Pages

August 15, 2010

The International Quidditch Association has announced (much sooner than last year) that its fourth annual Quidditch World Cup will take place on November 13th and 14th. The IQA also announced that rather than holding the event at Middlebury, as has been the venue for the past three years, this year's tournament will be held in DeWitt Clinton Park, located in New York City. Another change is that this year up to fifty teams can sign up, as opposed to previous years in which teams had to be invited.

The IQA actually became an official non-profit organization this summer, under Commissioner and President Alex Benepe '09 of Middlebury. According to our friends at MiddBlog, Benepe wrote to Middlebury administration explaining the venue change: mainly, New York is more centrally located and will enable more teams (including high school ones) to participate and the event will attract a bigger audience and hopefully get wider coverage.

Interestingly, MiddBlog points out that Benepe's father is Commissioner of Parks and Recreation for New York City.

No word yet on whether or not our team is competing, although we have competed in all three previous tournaments.

Update: We just heard from Nathan "Hungarian Horntail” Hoston '13, one of four Vassar Quidditch captains: "All the captains are very excited to have this opportunity to play in New York. By having the tournament in the city we are able to bring more people, play against a wider range of teams, and show the Quidditch playing world the amazing awesomeness that is the Butterbeer Brewers. We hope to do very well."

Update 2: Also just heard from captain Camila "Peruvian Vipertooth" Delgado '13: "I am proud to say that the Butterbeer Broooers will continue participating in the World Cup...Regarding its new location... [it] is much more convenient for the team as a whole; in the past Cups we've had trouble arranging the transportation for both the team and fans....We also really appreciate the way that bringing the Cup out of Middlebury opens it for a much more general public, making it more available to other teams who were not able to participate in the past and to the unsuspecting Harry Potter fans who will stumble upon us...All signs point to a really exciting season: it is a great time to be a Quidditch lover!"

Update 3: Just realized the tournament is taking place a mere five days before the new Harry Potter film. Coincidence?